open | everything I have found dear

[vaccination]

WHO: Ellie and you! (And closed sections for Joel and Wally+Joel)
WHERE: Ice cream shop and housing.
WHEN: Beginning of August.
WHAT: Various things. And stuff.
WARNINGS: Nothing too major.



HEROPA HOUSING | CLOSED TO WALLY+JOEL

[Is it a bad idea to bring someone into the lair of the grumpiest beast in Heropa? Yeah, probably, but Ellie's tired of always hanging out on neutral ground or at a place that isn't hers. Wally's been pretty cool, letting her mess around with his Netflix shit and introducing her to way too many snacks, so she eventually decides to show him the giant DVD collection that's somehow formed in the bedroom she shares with Joel. It seems only fair. This is what "normal" teenagers would do, right? Except those teenagers weren't hardened survivors who still jumped at sudden movements and sounds.

Good luck, Wally.

Before they reach her place, she stops him outside the door.]

Okay, so. My friend, Joel? He might look and sound sorta scary, but just be nice and you'll be good. [Joel could get along with people. Eventually.

Ellie doesn't give Wally much time to respond before she turns and opens the door, calling out.]

Joel? You here?

HEROPA HOUSING (sometime before or after the above) | CLOSED TO JOEL

[Today's task: clean up some of the mess that's pouring out of the side of the closet that has mostly Ellie's stuff. The other room has more of her junk, but her most-worn jeans and shirts have ended up in here, along with shoes, socks, and undergarments. There are even a few belts sticking out from under the door like snakes trying to make a break for it, which Ellie notices when she steps on the buckle of one.]

Ow! Motherfucker. I deserved that.

[She hops around on one foot until the pain subsides, then grabs an armful of t-shirts and some hangers. Yeah, she should probably hang these up instead of balling them up on the floor.]

ICE CREAM SHOP | OPEN

[One of the perks of working in an ice cream shop is the free cones. Okay, sure, maybe she was allowed one free cone a day, but who the hell cared if she had two? That is what Ellie is working on currently, hanging out behind the register and devouring a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.

It might not look like she's working, but she totally is. To be honest, she does enjoy working here, perks aside. It beats the musty clinic she was forced to do shifts in at the boarding school. Waffle cones and sprinkles beat needles and bandages any day.

... it's only a matter of time before she gets fired for all the ice cream she takes home, though.]

Comments

[alofts]

[ Unlike its dairy laden cousin, lemon sorbet went down easier and didn't stick to his teeth. No one could accuse him of having a sweet tooth, but the crisp taste of citrus was a luxury from where he had come from. A pint from the local ice cream shop that was on the way back from work was a stop that wouldn't derail the minutiae of his daily schedule. A small indulgence at little cost. The bell hanging over the door didn't seem to grab the attention of the girl behind the counter and Levi paid her no mind as he grabbed a pint from the small cooler in the corner before making his way up to the register. ]

You're dripping. [ Levi intoned, carton of sorbet dropped on the counter top. Tapping the side of his mouth to indicate where a line of mint chocolate chip was running down her chin. ]

[vaccination]

[Oops, a customer. Ellie's all ready to act like a good little worker when she sees that it's Levi--like he'd give a crap. So, she just grins and wipes at her mouth with her sleeve.

(Store uniform was an annoying bright polo, but she still wore a long sleeved shirt beneath it.)

There. All fixed.]

Hey. What's up?

[alofts]

[ Levi eyed the offensively bright polo sticky with melted ice cream smeared on the sleeve with that same, thousand yard stare of disbelief you see on parents who just watched a child track mud through the house.

At least attempts were made. ]

Nice. [ He says, nose curled up like he just stepped in something, but that was his only commentary. ]

Nothing, I'm just getting this. [ 'Nothing' was fighting for his life in Colorado a week ago, but shit happens, right? He slides his carton of sorbet further down the counter. ]

How's sneaking food during your shift working out?

[vaccination]

[Ellie ignores that look because, to her, Levi looks like that most of the time. She rolls her eyes at him, but motions to the security camera in the corner of the shop.]

Awesome, thank you very much. That camera doesn't even work up there. Also, I see you're only getting our super cheap coffee, so let me just ring that up for you.

[Save a few bucks, sure.]

[alofts]

[ Levi followed her gesture up towards an security camera drilled into the corner, and by now had a wider reference level to know it should be moving and have a red light indicating it was running. All that one did was give a spider room for an impressive cobweb. ]

Much obliged.

[ Digging out his wallet, Levi pays for what a cheap cup of coffee would have cost and stuffs the rest of the bills Ellie saved him into the cavernous and dusty little bell jar with TIPS written on a piece of tape over it. Plus a little extra. ]

So, nice gig? [ Maybe he should grab an application form for Sasha. ]

[vaccination]

Hey, hey, easy there. Don't dump your whole wallet into the tip jar. [Ellie doesn't need the money. Hell, she doesn't need this job, but it feels like she should keep it until she and Joel get out of government housing.]

And yeah, it's pretty cool. No pun intended.

[alofts]

Calm down, it's a couple extra dollars between paychecks. [ Knowing what real poverty was, Levi learned when to be frugal and when to stretch things around early on. Also, he was sure Ellie's employers would catch on to her extra cone pilfering habit eventually. Might as well make it look like she is doing a bang up job and raking in big tips for the time being. ]

Oh, right. [ Levi remembered something while idly tapping his fingers over the carton lid. ] Speaking of money- Bruma's owner is thinking about selling him.

HEROPA HOUSING - Ellie, Joel, Wally

[runningstart]

Don't worry, I can handle it. [Wally's got a lot of experience dealing with dark, brooding, angry men with like at least a foot of height and no less than sixty pounds of muscle on him. You want a zombie apocalypse? Try looking Batman in the eye after mouthing off to him.

They get inside and it's...not what Wally expected. Chairs, table. Coffee table, even. Couches, TV, a couple DVD cases on the loveseat. There's a bag there in the corner, a stray sock on the ground but it's just so pedestrian. Normal. After what Ellie had said about what her world was like, he'd kind of expected to walk into the house and see the paint peeling off the walls, the floorboards rotting and graffiti on the tables. Which is stupid. ...really stupid, now that he thinks about it.]

He's not gonna fall out of the ceiling and slit my throat, is he?

[shittybirthday]

[Joel hasn't had to use his guns in Heropa yet, but that doesn't mean he doesn't regularly clean them. While Ellie has been out, he's busily set to work with pulling apart his pistol, cleaning out his hunting rifle, making sure his weapons are in good condition. Just in case.

The dining table, out of view from the front door, is covered with an old sheet and laden with gun cleaning supplies: solvent, bore brushes, cleaning patches, cleaning rods, cotton swabs. The room smells of chemicals and cleaning alcohol. He's cleaned his hunting rifle, his pistol, the revolver, the Shorty, gone over his assault rifle, cleaned out the El Diablo, and now he's onto the last one, his shotgun.

He's polishing the barrel when he hears the front door open and Ellie calling out to him. Followed by the voice of someone else. Huh. Tossing the rag onto the dining table, Joel, thinking nothing of it, keeps his shotgun clutched in his hand as he ventures out to the living room.

He comes to a stop at the doorway, peering at the kid warily. Shotgun in hand. He sure wasn't expecting company. He turns his attention on Ellie.]

Who's this?

[vaccination]

[Fuuuuuuuuuuck--]

Um. Joel, this is Wally. Wally, this is Joel... [Who is, apparently, doing some cleaning. Impeccable timing. She plasters a pleasant smile on her face. Keep cool. Joel's calmer when he has his security blanket in his hand.]

I mentioned Wally, right? He showed me that Netflix thingy. I was just thinking that he could check out our super awesome DVD collection, too.

[She'll just be sure to stand between Wally and Joel. Just in case.]

[runningstart]

[SNAP goes Wally's eyes right to the shotgun. People don't use shotguns for hunting. Or sport.]

Uh, hi. Pretty much just what she said. [Sure, he's seen plenty of guns in his line of work and he's not too worried about getting shot, but like...the guy is just kind of carrying it around like it's a loaf of bread. If people carried loaves of bread like that.]

[shittybirthday]

You mighta mentioned it.

[Ellie definitely mentioned Wally to him before. Wally is a name that's pretty hard to forget. Joel is just not terribly pleased she's brought this kid to their place, and so is deliberately being aloof.

Thing is, Joel knows Ellie needs friends her own age. He knows it's not something he can put a stop to. At least the kid isn't Jesse. Anyone is better than Jesse when it comes to Ellie, as far as Joel is concerned. Then again, he'll also reserve judgement because for all he knows, this Wally kid could be a real pain in his ass.

He looks at Wally.]

So, you're the kid who's been introducing Ellie to all that junk food.

[vaccination]

[She totally did. Ellie knows exactly what Joel is doing--not too long ago, he treated her like that, too. Like she wasn't worth his time. And she knows he's going to be suspicious and weird, because that's just how he is with new people, no matter their age.

Sorry, Wally.]

Ha, yeah. This guy might be skinny as hell, but holy shit can he eat. And you think I eat a lot, Joel. He can eat like ten times the amount I do.

thread the second! (closed to ellie)

[shittybirthday]

[Today's task for Joel, or one of them at least: clear out the mugs and cups and glasses that have been piling up in their bedroom.

Some of them are mugs Joel has used, with dregs of few days old coffee floating at the bottom of the mugs, but a lot of them are Ellie's. Damn, she's a messy kid.

Not that Joel cares about that overly much. If anything, mess is something Joel generally doesn't care about. He hasn't cared about it for years. He's lived in a shitty as hell world with debris and mould and decay everywhere he turned, and fighting to stay alive while the world was falling apart around him has long since taught him to completely rethink his priorities.

But still. Ellie is a real messy kid. He can't really fault her for it - it's not like she's ever had anyone teach her how to be neat. That doesn't stop him from getting annoyed, though, when he trips over one of her shoes or finds himself almost landing on his ass when he slips on a comic she's left lying around.

Or, in this case, stumbles over her backpack left sitting in the middle of the hallway.]

Sonofa-- Ellie!

[The mugs he's clutching in both hands by the handles clink together as he manages to right himself. He throws a look down at the bag and presses his lips together into a thin, aggravated line. Goddamn it, Ellie. With a sigh, he continues to the kitchen, sets the mugs down amongst the clutter of other dishes and are waiting to be washed, and heads back over to her backpack.

He stoops down and snatches it up. It's unzipped; the front flap flops open, and a note shoved haphazardly in the bag catches his eye. He's not one for snooping through Ellie's things but he pulls the note out to give it a quick read - it's probably nothing important, anyway. It's an old piece of paper, tattered, grimy, like it's been through the wars--

I'm going to share a secret with you. I'm not a big fan of kids and I hate babies--

Well, that grabs his attention. With a frown, he continues reading the letter, backpack now hanging from his hand at his side.

You're not even a day old, and holding you is the most incredible thing I've done in my life...

Marlene will look after you. There's no one in this world I trust more than her. When the time comes she'll tell you all about me...

Forever... Your loving mother...

By the time he's finished reading it, there's a very sudden, cold ache of something equal parts hollow and uneasy gripping in his chest. He mutters absently under his breath:]

Jesus--

[vaccination]

[Uh oh. She's in trouble now. Considering that Ellie doesn't immediately hear footsteps towards the bedroom, she contemplates just going about her business and pretending she didn't hear that bellow, but the silence is concerning. There's usually something after he swears like that.

Poking her head out of the bedroom, she spots him holding her backpack. Oh. That's where that went.

And then, very suddenly, she realizes what he's doing. He's reading something. A very familiar, stained letter that she's read hundreds of times. She knows it by heart but could stare at the bleeding and faded letters forever. It makes her blood run cold to see it in his hand and, before she can even process a thought, she's rushing towards him to snatch it away.]

Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing? Gimme that!

[She doesn't talk to Joel like that. Not anymore, at least, but in this moment she's reverted to the new kid in school that scrapped tooth and nail to keep her few possessions.

That letter is hers and he has no right to even touch it, let alone read it.

Ironic considering what else is in that backpack of hers.]

[shittybirthday]

[The way Ellie comes rushing at him like that, talking to him like that, like he's nothing more than a stranger invading her privacy - it takes him by complete surprise. Shit, he's thinking, shit, shit. Thoughts of Sarah, and of Marlene, and of what happened in Salt Lake City, they're whirling through his head at the same time, and all Joel can do is let Ellie snatch the letter from him as he takes a step back from her, his gaze averted and his expression unreadable.

Christ. Jesus Christ. What does he do here? Avoid it, that's what. Completely shut it down. He sure as hell doesn't want to be thinking about Marlene, or about those damn Fireflies, especially not now. Especially after reading what he just read.

He steels himself. Collects himself into something impassive and closed off.]

Tripped over your damn backpack.

[A low and gruff tone. And just like that, he tosses Ellie's backpack down on the floor by her feet and turns away from her at the same time, tense and dismissive.]

[vaccination]

And this just so happened to fall into your hand when you caught yourself? [She gestures to the note, then inspects it, knowing every crease and stain and tear. It's alright. Three people had ever touched that note--her mother, Marlene, and herself. And now, Joel.

It's stupid. The anger seems to simmer down once she sees Joel react, just as much as she is, in his own way. Ellie takes a breath to calm herself, exhaling slowly.

Stupid. Stupid that she feels bad for yelling at him when she has every right to, backpack on the floor or not.]

How much did you read?

[shittybirthday]

[He says nothing at first. He's surveying the dishes that need to be washed, though he's not really thinking at all about that.

You're not even a day old, and holding you is the most incredible thing I've done in my life... I know you'll turn out to be the woman you're meant to be.

His moves his right hand over his watch, thumb brushing over the cracked glass.

And Marlene. Fucking Marlene. Promising to look after Ellie, Ellie's mother trusting her completely. And then she was just going to treat Ellie like she was nothing more than a lab rat for her little goddamn cause that would probably have started a whole new goddamn war had they managed to engineer a vaccine.]

Didn't think it was important.

[And that's the honest truth when he'd pulled the note out of her bag. But then he chances a glance at her. The tense, guilty look on his face says everything: he read all of it.]

[vaccination]

[Another sigh. Ellie's eyes are on some spot on the floor before she glances up at him and sees that expression--there go any leftover urges to stomp away and slam the bedroom door. Instead, she sighs and picks up her backpack, putting the note back where it belongs and putting the bag on a nearby chair. Nice and safe.

Infuriating as seeing him with that note was, she knows he's no snoop. Joel values his own privacy too much to start fucking with hers.]

Marlene gave me that, when I first met her. My knife, too. They were both my mom's. She held onto them for thirteen years, until she had the chance to give 'em to me.

[A hand fiddles with the hem of her sleeve as she looks at Joel again.]

Sorry for leaving my shit out.

[Sorry for yelling.]

[attractedtodarkness]

I'd like some service if you're not too busy.

[Violet sounds bored and sarcastic as she leans against the counter. It's been a terrible month and she just wants something sweet to tide her through the day]

[vaccination]

[Her bad. Ellie's green eyes dart over to the no-so-happy customer, and she wipes the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand. Cleanliness is still a thing she's working on.]

Just doing a quality check. What can I get you?

[attractedtodarkness]

[Violet seems mildly amused at least when Ellie does that at least. Violet would probably do the same if she had access to free ice cream.]

What's good here? And how many of those do you get for free?

[vaccination]

Pretty much everything. Depends on if you like fruit flavored stuff or... not fruit flavored stuff I guess, though.

[She looks down at her cone.]

"Free" is kinda relative.

[attractedtodarkness]

Well, I'm not going to tell on you.

[Violet looks over the flavors before reaching out to tap against the display window with her tattoo'd wrist]

Give me a scoop of the chocolate chip.

[vaccination]

[Not that Ellie would care. Joel makes enough that her working here is just something to do that isn't watching movies or eating junk food. She's not even allowed to spend any of her own money.]

Alright. Anything else?